Evolution of PtCu tripod nanocrystals to dendritic triangular nanocrystals and study of the electrochemical performance to alcohol electrooxidation
Houkang Pu, Te Zhang, Kaiyu Dong, Huizhen Dai, Luming Zhou, Kuankuan Wang, Shuxing Bai, Yingying Wang, Yujia Deng
Abstract
ions to achieve different degrees of branching on PtCu nanocrystals, and the process was systematically studied and analyzed. Meanwhile, dumbbell nanocrystals of PtCu were successfully synthesized through slight adjustments to synthesis conditions. In electrochemical tests, the obtained dendritic PtCu triangular nanocrystals exhibited prominent electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability for ethylene glycol, methanol, and ethanol oxidation reactions due to the unique nanostructures as well as alloyed virtue, and were much better than commercial Pt/C. In addition, this study provides a general strategy for designing novel branched Pt-based nanomaterials with high electrocatalytic performance.